Do the Winnipeg Jets Have Enough Talent to Replace Nikolaj Ehlers?
The Winnipeg Jets have made a number of moves to try to overcome the loss of Nikolai Eelers, but is it enough? Harrison Lee of Locked on Winnipeg Jets joins us to discuss that and what the Jets need to do this season to be successful. All that and more coming up on today’s Locked on NHL podcast. [Music] You’re Locked on NHL, your daily podcast on the National Hockey League, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Gil Martin here. Welcome everybody to the Monday edition of the Locked On NHL podcast. We are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked on NHL your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with MonarchMoney. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. It is my pleasure to welcome back to the show the host of locked Winnipeg Jets, Harrison Lee. And uh it’s been a busy off season for the Winnipeg Jets, but the big news is a subtraction. Nikolai Eelers no longer with the team. He moves on to Carolina. How are the Jets working to overcome this loss? Uh well, they’ve done a lot of signings. Um they brought in like three or four new guys. Um I guess if you can point to any particular signing that’s supposed to be um the replacement for Eers, it’s probably Gustav Nyquist. Um they brought him in for a year 3.25 mil. Um I think the reality though is that I don’t know that they’ve actually found the Eer’s replacement. Like what Nick brings to the team um his transition game, his improvement on this year’s power play, I still think they have yet to really fill that void. I think they’ve brought in a lot of stop gap options for a lot of departing players, but I don’t really look at anyone signing as having been the one that actually replaces Nick. Um, what’s sort of funny though is like when you think about it because he was underutilized in some ways the Jets may not miss him as much as they probably should. But I do think when you look at uh who kind of gets promoted in his place and some adjustments to special teams and just the general uh reduction in team speed, I think you’re going to notice it in other ways. Um, and and you know what he does in Carolina, I I do have an idea of what’s going to happen there. Uh, I don’t know if it’s going to be like beyond my wildest dreams, but I think he’s going to do pretty darn well with an increased role in the team like that. So, are there any young prospects in the pipeline who even if it’s a couple of years down the road could because you mentioned stop gap, are there a couple of guys who could in a year or two step in and pick up some of that slack? Um, the only guy who has anywhere near the same kind of skill set is probably Brad Lambert and I don’t know how the team feels about him. Uh, last year he had an NHL stint for, you know, a couple of games. I don’t think he really looked uh 100% comfortable at the NHL level. Um, I do think that partly, you know, his his last season with the Moose, he looked like he had a really big step back, but Manitoba was just a terrible team. So, he was still top three in team scoring, but I don’t think he took over um the AHL like a lot of people were hoping. And so, you know, I think he’s one of those kids that really thrives on confidence and and playing with skill. I just I I don’t know if that’s really going to translate uh this year, and I would I would think it’d have to take a really big preeason and camp for him to really impress enough to get into this year’s lineup. Uh, I do think he’s on the short list for call-ups in case of injury, but beyond him, I I just don’t think the Jets really have anyone quite like Eers in their system. Lambert’s the only one who comes close and he’s a little bit of a lottery ticket right now. So, uh, long and short of it is I I wish they had more. Um they have a lot of other intriguing archetypes for players like Kevin He uh Kieran Walton and some of these guys who will play different kinds of roles in games but no one that I would say is a onetoone or even like a 75 to one um to what Eers is. Jonathan Caves now coming back to Manitoba and joining the Winnipeg Jets. What can we expect from him? I mean, is anything he provides a bonus or do you think he has a specific role on this team that he’ll fill? Lord, I wish I knew that answer. Uh, I think that’s kind of where a lot of us are is that, you know, ideally, he would have been your fourthline center. You know, he brings a lot of leadership and veteran experience. You know, he’s been there. He’s been a multi-up winner. Uh, in his prime, he was one of the best centers in the league, but he’s been two years off the ice, uh, dealing with recovery from long COVID. He really hasn’t said much about his own physical state beyond the fact that he wants to play. Uh but he did admit that, you know, the feet are still catching up and I think that’s probably pretty telling that I, you know, the first few months with him could be a bit of a a learning curve. Um you know, Taves is kind of coming in to be the Jets 2C, especially with Lowry starting the injury or starting the year on on injured reserve. Um I I just don’t really know how this is all going to work. Uh, TAZ ideally I think would, you know, come in and be a plug-and-play player, but I think we all know that’s just not that likely. You know, a lot of people have said, “Oh, but Harrison, it’s going to be like Landisk Scog or look at Marsh and he’s still playing.” And I’m like, “These guys have been in and around hockey, whether actively playing for an NHL squad or rehabbing with their orgs for years. That’s not what Taves has been doing. He was in India quite literally, um, taking a different treatment route. So, I I just don’t know what to expect. Um, and with what the Jets have kind of projected a little bit, I think they’re suggesting he’s going to be the TUC. And I feel like that’s probably not the plan uh that I would personally go with. Um, I think he’ll be fine on the power play, but you know, at 5v5, I just don’t really feel comfortable with where his game’s going to be at. Uh, and it might not really improve much. You know, you might be looking at a guy who in the ideal state is really your 4C, but he’s going to have to play elevated minutes. um if he’s physically capable of it. And we don’t even know if that’s the case either. So, this is a really weird uh black box that I don’t think anyone has a clear uh vision on. And like the push back I get from Jets fans is he knows his body better than you do. And I’m like, sure, you know, but he also has incentive to actually get back in the league. He’ll say what he needs to say and do what he needs to do to play, but that doesn’t mean that, you know, at this stage of his career, he’s, you know, already late 30s. how, you know, in game shape is he really gonna be? And it’s it’s a tough call. So, um, all that to say, he is a huge X factor. Uh, I think your your best guess is he’s a bottom six center, uh, who might have to do more for the Jets given the fact that Winnipeg really doesn’t have a lot of high-end uh, center depth right now. What is your biggest concern surrounding this team with training camp about a month away? Well, uh, the Jets still haven’t figured out the Kyle Connor question, and this is probably one of the biggest decisions the franchise is ever going to make. Uh, with Helabuk and Shley, you know, those contracts really weren’t that expensive. Obviously, Hely is the most important player to the team, but Kyle is coming into an era of the league where revenues way up, the cap’s going up. So, his next deal is going to be a 10 figure contract or uh, sorry, eight figure contract. Um, and that’s never been a thing. the Jets have done before. Uh the max they’ve paid somebody is like 8 and a half million 8.75. They have never gone, you know, 10 11 12 mil. And so this is like a huge question because whatever they do with Connor really decides what they do with this core. If he gets traded, which is extremely unlikely, uh then you’d be looking at a very different scenario. And I think the hall that you get for him could completely change Winnipeg’s top nine. But if you resign him, you are now uh looking at a a clock is ticking kind of situation as if it wasn’t already. You know, this team’s already past 30. They have one of the older rosters in the league. Um losing Eers and swapping them with, you know, a number of veterans really doesn’t fix things. Um and so I I just think the Jets have really accomplished one of the most incredible regular season feats, but when it comes to the playoffs, they’re still not really well prepared for it. And that’s where I feel like, you know, there continues to be maybe some stagnancy. And this last year was a really big improvement for their postseason run. They won six games. That’s a huge change over what happened in previous runs. I think they won like one game in their last two playoffs, which is just crazy. Uh and then this one, they had six games. Awesome. Um they they realistically could have beaten the Stars, I think, if they had had a better trade deadline. And I will still stand behind that regardless of what people say. Uh but you know, it is what it is, right? I just think this team is uh somebody said that they’re kind of looking at maybe becoming the Isisles in a few years. Um but kind of in the Lou era rather than the new Dar uh you know approach and that’s kind of something that’s on my peripheral and I’m I’m thinking about it in the longer term. Um, so these next two to three years, the Jets have to figure this out because uh, you know, they they need to figure out if they want to really believe in the score and roll with it because if they do, they’ve got to add more to it or if they’re thinking about the future and the fact that things are changing, they might want to start that transition uh, with some of their kids now. And I I do think at least one or two rookies uh, might be filtering in this year. Pivotal time, crossroads for the Winnipeg Jets. Harrison, why don’t you tell our viewers and our listeners where they could find the podcast and where they could find you on social media? You can find us at Lockdown Winnipeg Jets. We’re on all these same platforms that Locked on NHL is. And you can find me on social media, hliving Loco and at L_Winnipeg Jets. All right, Harrison, thank you so much. Thanks. Today’s episode is brought to you by your friends at Monarch Money. Most people can’t name all their financial accounts or even what they’re worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That’s why there’s Monarch Money. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or your phone. Monarch Money does the heavy lifting for you. 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The Winnipeg Jets lost Nikolaj Ehlers this offseason but they have made some moves to try to replace him including adding Manitoba native Jonathan Toews.
Harrison Lee of Locked On Winnipeg Jets joins us to discuss the Jets prospects for the upcoming season, what role Toews will likely play and how the team will seek to replace Ehlers.
All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin.
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